54 FIELD-STUDIES OF RARER BIRDS 



nine to a dozen times, but so sharply as to defy any 

 effectual attempt at imitation. If the naturalist 

 is only in his budding stage, or should perchance 

 the specialist lack real pretensions to " ear," he 

 will probably put away " Cirls " from his mind, 

 if indeed he contemplated them at all. Rather will 

 he regard the utterances as the broken effort of a 

 Yellowhammer spun out in a slightly different key 

 than usual as is, of course, sometimes the case 

 and wanting the final wheeze; or else, perhaps, 

 as the hurried ditty of a Lesser Whitethroat. In 

 fact, quite a number of good ornithologists insist 

 that the song of the latter bird provided the low, 

 warbling prelude is missed by them or omitted by 

 the musician is indistinguishable from it. This 

 notion, however, is totally incorrect, as is also the 

 assertion that the Yellowhammer 's refrain, when 

 minus the concluding eese, can be definitely mis- 

 taken for it. I say "definitely " advisedly, since 

 some few Yellowhammers pitch their tone in quite 

 a " Cirl " key, and often dispense with the final, 

 prolonged eese facts which may give rise to 

 momentary, but merely momentary, confusion. 

 Oddly enough, however, although you may some- 

 times, for the instant, lay the Yellowhammer 's 

 song to the door of the " Cirl," you can never 

 reverse the order of things. Once a real " Cirl" 

 is heard singing, there is never the least doubt 

 about him, at least not to me. 



